New Hampshire Lottery executive director Charles McIntyre, left, and Bill Shaheen of Shaheen and Gordon law firm answer questions concerning the woman who wants to remain anonymous after winning the Powerball jackpot at Lottery headquarters in Concord, New Hampshire on Wednesday, March 7, 2018. The lottery paid out the money while the privacy issue is still in court being decided and the woman gave out monies to several charities. (Geoff Forester/The Concord Monitor via AP) less

New Hampshire Lottery executive director Charles McIntyre, left, and Bill Shaheen of Shaheen and Gordon law firm answer questions concerning the woman who wants to remain anonymous after winning the Powerball ... more

Photo: Geoff Forester, MBR / Associated Press

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Lauren Kolifrath, program director of the 68 Hours to End Hunger-Dover charity, holds on to the cardboard check after the Lottery press conference in Concord, New Hampshire on Wednesday, March 7, 2018. A New Hampshire woman who won a Powerball jackpot worth nearly $560 million plans to give as much as $50 million to charity as a legal fight to keep her identity private proceeds, her lawyers said Wednesday. (Geoff Forester/The Concord Monitor via AP) less

Lauren Kolifrath, program director of the 68 Hours to End Hunger-Dover charity, holds on to the cardboard check after the Lottery press conference in Concord, New Hampshire on Wednesday, March 7, 2018. A New ... more

Photo: Geoff Forester, MBR / Associated Press

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Lottery officials and all the charitable organizations that received donations from the anonymous New Hampshire woman who won the $559.7 million Powerball jackpot hold up their check donations at Lottery Headquarters in Concord, New Hampshire on Wednesday, March 7, 2018. A judge is considering the winners' lawyer's request that her privacy interests outweigh what the state says is the public's right to know who won the money in the nation's eighth-largest lottery jackpot.The New Hampshire Lottery agreed to payout the money while the court decides the case. (Geoff Forester/The Concord Monitor via AP) less

Lottery officials and all the charitable organizations that received donations from the anonymous New Hampshire woman who won the $559.7 million Powerball jackpot hold up their check donations at Lottery ... more

Photo: Geoff Forester, MBR / Associated Press

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FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2018, file photo, Judge Charles Temple listens to attorney Steven M. Gordon, who represents lottery winner "Jane Doe", during a hearing in the Jane Doe v. NH Lottery Commission case at Hillsborough Superior Court in Nashua, N.H. Temple ruled Monday, March 12, 2018, that the woman who won a Powerball jackpot worth nearly $560 million can keep her identity private, but not her hometown. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool, File) less

Attorney William Shaheen, center, who represents lottery winner "Jane Doe", talks with New Hampshire Lottery executive director Charles McIntyre, right, prior to a hearing in the Jane Doe v. NH Lottery Commission case at Hillsborough Superior Court in Nashua, N.H., Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018. Lawyers for a New Hampshire woman, who says she has a Powerball ticket that won a $559.7 million jackpot, are requesting that a judge grant her a request to stay anonymous. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, Pool) less

Cashiers sell a lottery ticket at Reeds Ferry Market store in Merrimack, N.H., where the winning ticket for the $559.7 million jackpot on Jan. 6 was bought. If identified, the winner would be subject to “harassment, solicitation, and other unwanted communications,” a judge ruled. less

Cashiers sell a lottery ticket at Reeds Ferry Market store in Merrimack, N.H., where the winning ticket for the $559.7 million jackpot on Jan. 6 was bought. If identified, the winner would be subject to ... more

Photo: Steven Senne /Associated Press

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Powerball winner can be anonymous

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CONCORD, N.H. — A judge has ruled that a New Hampshire woman who won a Powerball jackpot worth nearly $560 million can keep her identity private, but not her hometown.

Judge Charles Temple noted Monday that the case’s resolution rested the state’s Right-to-Know law, which governs access to public records for the woman. She was identified as “Jane Doe” in a lawsuit against the New Hampshire Lottery Commission.

“She was jumping up and down,” said her lawyer, William Shaheen. “She will be able to live her life normally.”

Shaheen said the woman is from Merrimack, 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Concord. The winning ticket was sold at the Reeds Ferry Market in that town for the Jan. 6 drawing.

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Powerball Winner Sues For Anonymity After Winning $560 Million The New Hampshire winner filed a lawsuit as Jane Doe due to "invasion of her privacy," according to CNN Money. But part of collecting the hefty jackpot requires identifying yourself, says The New Hampshire Lottery. The New Hampshire Lottery to CNN Money Jane Doe purchased the lucky ticket on Jan. 6 from Reeds Ferry Market in Merrimack. Jane Doe could have had a trustee of a designated trust sign for her, the lawsuit claims. She did follow state commission's wishes

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Temple wrote he had “no doubts whatsoever that should Ms. Doe’s identity be revealed, she will be subject to an alarming amount of harassment, solicitation, and other unwanted communications.” He said she met her burden of showing that her privacy interest outweighs the public’s interest in disclosing her name in the nation’s eighth-largest jackpot.

However, Temple noted that nothing in his order could be interpreted to prevent the lottery commission or its employees from “processing, maintaining, or accessing Ms. Doe’s ticket in the normal course of business.”

The woman signed her ticket after the drawing, but later learned from lawyers that she could have shielded her identity by writing the name of a trust. They said she was upset after learning she was giving up her anonymity by signing the ticket — something the lottery commission acknowledged isn’t spelled out on the ticket, but is detailed on its website. The woman ended up establishing the Good Karma Family Trust of 2018.

Temple found that the commission’s argument that revealing her name to ensure the public she’s a “bona fide” lottery participant and “real” winner was not persuasive, because a trustee claiming a prize on someone’s behalf is certainly not a “bona fide” participant or a “real” winner.

“While we were expecting a different outcome and believed the state had a strong argument, we respect the court’s decision,” Charlie McIntyre, commission executive director, said in a statement. “That said, we will consult with the Attorney General’s office to determine appropriate next steps regarding the case.”

Last week, the commission handed over $264 million — the amount left after taxes were deducted — to the woman’s lawyers. They said she would give $150,000 to Girls Inc. and $33,000 apiece to three chapters of End 68 Hours of Hunger in the state. It is the first of what her lawyers said would be donations over the years of between $25 million to $50 million during her lifetime.